Original subtitles

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♪Wearing peach blossom makeup, I boil tea over the stove♪

♪With a pure heart, I embroider the brocade of time♪

♪On the short paper, affection flows in the silent moonlight♪

♪I only wish that by my side, is my love♪

♪Cool autumn wind blowing, I gaze far leaning against the railing♪

♪Sunset glow over the green hill, in formation wild geese are flying♪

♪Covering a thousand miles on horseback, for whom is he longing♪

♪He returned home in dreams♪

♪I will never forget that you held my hands♪

♪In your warm palms and we braved winds and waves♪

♪Unexpectedly, after we traveled so far and turned grey-haired♪

♪I am still by your side♪

♪Hearts burning, we look into each other's eyes♪

♪Feelings overflowing, they don't need to be hided♪

♪No matter how time passes and life changes♪

♪Together, we will grow old♪

=The Sword and the Brocade=

=Episode 21=

Three.

Four.

Five.

Rectitude, Prudence & Diligence Justice Gives Birth to Wisdom

My Lord.

About the moldy rice incident

you asked me to investigate into,

I've found a lead.

How did it go?

Is it serious?

I did what you said

and followed up the clue we found in the rice shop.

It turns out that the barracks

are also plagued by moldy rice.

Luckily,

the problem is not as serious as in the soup kitchen.

Some soldiers in the army

have diarrhea.

Luckily, for now,

there is no big problem.

Book of Documents

Soldiers are those who defend the country

on the battlefield to death.

It is crazy for Ou family

to make money at the expense of

the health of the soldiers.

With their health compromised,

we would be sending these soldiers to die

on the battlefield.

That would be an offense to His Majesty.

Eunuch Feng.

Marquis.

I heard that you went to the southeast for an inspection.

When did you come back?

Earlier this month.

Thank you for asking.

Come on.

Eunuch Feng,

Grand Secretary Chen was frowning

and seemed thoughtful.

Is there anything wrong

with politics?

Marquis,

you have no idea.

The rice for the military camps was found to be moldy.

His Majesty was enraged

and has ordered Great Secretary Chen to look into it.

Marquis Jingyuan's Mansion

Father,

today, Wang Zichuan of Ministry of Revenue

was suddenly arrested

and interrogated by Ministry of Justice.

Does this have to do with me?

Official Ou,

it was from the eunuch

that I got the news

of moldy rice

in the military camp.

Father, please forgive me.

About the moldy rice,

it was my fault.

But I never meant

to disrespect you.

Everything I have done

has been for our Ou family,

for you.

Tell me about your fault.

I'm not smart enough.

I told you

not to make any big move

unless you've got to be sure.

If you didn't sell moldy rice

to Xu Lingyi,

how could he follow up the clue

and find out

the problems

in the military food?

He knew about it?

I sold Vice Minister Wang out.

Because His Majesty

has asked Grand Secretary Chen to look into this.

I made him

your scapegoat.

Father, please don't be mad.

Father, you're in charge of military affairs in the southeast.

Building good relationship with those who support sea ban policy

can be expensive.

I did this

because I want to help you.

You're so stupid.

Ministry of Revenue

has already been on Xu Lingyi's side.

You have no idea

what price I paid

to have Wang Zichuan planted

into the department.

After this,

Ministry of Revenue will treat us

as enemy.

Pick the brush up.

It has been a year

since Ou Yanxing left home.

We never heard from him.

Do you know where he went?

I have no idea.

I heard

that he was heading up north these days.

I think he will come back to the capital soon.

Let me know

as soon as he gets back.

You are excused.

Aye, Father.

They look nice, don't they?

Absolutely.

I need you

to send these boxes separately

to the wife of Duke Ning,

the wife of Marquis Zhongshan

and the wife of Earl Zuo'an.

Tell them

that these are new arrivals

of Treasures Boutique.

They are welcome to have it.

Yes, Young Madam.

Dear, you're back.

What happened to you?

Is there anything wrong?

They knew about the moldy rice.

Well, Father...

I was trying to use it

to win his favor.

However,

I fell into Xu Lingyi's trap.

My plan almost got ruined.

You told me

that it went well.

Where did things

go wrong?

Xu Lingyi's wife

meddled in the affairs

and upset the apple cart.

She is the illegitimate daughter of the Luo family.

What can she do?

On the day of disaster relief in the soup chicken,

if it weren't for her,

Xu family would not have made it

till Xu Lingyi's return.

Xu Lingyi got suspicious

and traced the source of moldy rice to the military camp.

If it weren't for father

who decisively made his spy

in the Ministry of Revenue the scapegoat,

the stakes would be high.

Hearing what you said,

I would like to meet

the wife of Marquis Yongping.

Father

also mentioned Yanxing.

Why is this illegitimate son

always on father's mind?

He couldn't care less

about our family.

He would spend his days traveling around.

Speaking of his career,

he does nothing

but some unpresentable businesses.

I just don't get it.

Father just favors him.

In the capital,

I'm the only eldest son

of a duke's legal wife

who is not appointed the heir.

Our family business is rooted in the Ministry of War.

However, father sent me

to the Ministry of Rites.

Tell me.

Tell me why.

Dear,

as far as I'm concerned,

there is no need to worry about it.

Perhaps father

is using him

to sharpen your ability.

As for the appointment of the heir,

your father will after all

consider my father's feeling.

He won't appoint him the heir.

Dear,

now I can only

count on you

and your father.

My Lord.

You're back, My Lord.

You have a lot of work to do.

Please take care.

I will leave you to it.

Shiyi.

Ou family is behind

the issue of the moldy rice.

Oh.

You knew about it.

Well...

We also found

that the moldy rice came from the military camp.

Ou family was crazy enough to embezzle army provisions.

His Majesty knew about it

and was enraged.

Marquis Jingyuan had to

wipe out his henchmen

in order to avoid punishment.

That's great.

This is not only about political dispute.

On a personal level,

you're protecting

Xu family.

On a greater level,

you're assisting His Majesty

in his clean-up.

This is going to matter to the whole country.

Refugees in the capital

are not settled yet.

Some may take advantage of the chaos.

You went out a lot these days.

Did you ever get into trouble?

No, I didn't run into any trouble.

Thank you for asking.

Given the fact that you went out frequently,

you may need Wan Daxian,

who is good at martial arts,

to be your body guard.

In case of emergency,

he can protect you.

My Lord, that sounds nice.

I will consider it.

Why is His Lordship

saying this to me?

Did he know

that I went to Xianling Pavilion?

If I tell him the truth,

what will he do?

My Lord, actually, I...

My Lord.

Greetings, My Lord.

Greetings, Your Ladyship.

I was visiting Great Madam.

My Lord,

I need to talk to you about something.

Perhaps I should leave, My Lord.

My Lord,

do you know

what day it is?

So, what's the occasion?

It seems you forgot it.

Today is my birthday.

My apologies.

I've prepared a delicious meal.

My Lord,

please come tonight.

I'm afraid you'll eat by yourself.

My Lord.

My Lord, it has been two years

since we got married.

I have always been alone in this house,

feeling lonely.

I wasn't meant to bother you.

But today,

when I visited Great Madam,

she mentioned

that today is my birthday,

and that I should

invite you to dinner.

That's why I...

For them,

you are the only one they can rely on.

You can't always turn a cold shoulder to them.

All right.

That's great.

I shall begin making arrangements at once.

I will be waiting for you tonight, My Lord.

Okay.

Come, come.

Nanny,

His Lordship spent about an hour

in Concubine Qiao's room before he left.

What now?

Has His Lordship gone to Her Ladyship?

His Lordship has returned to Banyuepan.

What is going on?

A while back,

His Lordship and Her Ladyship were getting close.

How come

they are drifting apart these days?

Qiao Lianfang, that witch

must be playing the saboteur.

What's more,

there has been no news from Amber.

If things keep going this way...

What if...

What if she was pregnant with His Lordship's baby...

Then...

No way, no way.

We must

let Madam Luo know about this.

That's right.

Madam Luo should know about this.

Today I skirted around the issue.

But Shiyi still would not tell.

I'm not an unreasonable person.

Even if she tells me the truth,

I will never stop her

from teaching embroidery

at Xianling Pavilion.

But why is she unwilling

to tell me the truth?

My Lord,

it happened many days ago.

You are still going over that.

Are you making fun of me?

I don't think I have the guts.

My Lord,

to go in another direction,

you may understand

why Her Ladyship kept the truth from you.

To go in another direction?

Why would you

not let Her Ladyship know

that you already knew about it?

If you are worried about

what Her Ladyship thought,

you can have a talk with her.

I am not well-educated.

I don't know much.

But I'm pretty sure about one thing.

My Lord, if you want to understand

Her Ladyship better,

you should open

your heart first.

Otherwise,

there's always

an unbreakable wall

standing between you and Her Ladyship.

It seems you got plenty of them.

Yep.

I'll leave it here.

Sure.

Nanny Tao,

what brings you here?

Where is Dongqing?

She is in Her Ladyship's room.

Are you looking for her?

Not really.

I came to you.

Madam Luo

asked me

to give this to you.

This is...

This is my sister's embroidery.

Did Madam Luo find my sister?

How is she?

Madam Luo wanted me to tell you

that you must bear her words in mind

if you want to

meet your sister again.

His Lordship doesn't like Shiyi much.

She needs someone

to help her win the heart of His Lordship.

What would Madam Luo

want me to do?

Now you are

playing dumb?

At the very beginning,

you were sent by Madam Luo

to His Lordship,

don't you know that?

But how could we do this

to Her Ladyship?

This is not the time to worry about others.

What matters most is

the interests of Luo family

and your sister's safety.

Do you understand?

Amber?

Dongqing.

What are you doing here?

Don't slack off.

Her Ladyship wanted you

to deliver these drawings to Master Jian.

Okay.

Master Jian,

this is the new pattern

designed by Her Ladyship.

Please check it out.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

This is my duty.

Amber,

please wait a moment.

Here you are.

This is...

Just open it.

Shiyi

always thinks of you.

She often says

that you have come to the age

to marry a good man.

She has been preparing

your dowry.

Look,

she spared some time

to make a pair of embroidered shoes for you.

Check if you like it.

Come.

Thank you, Master Jian.

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Watch out.

Mr. Lin.

Amber.

You're here.

Where is Lady Luo?

She is not here today.

You look pale.

Are you ill?

What happened?

I'm fine.

I don't think so.

You seem about to cry.

If you want to talk about your feelings,

I'm here.

Mr. Lin, thank you for asking.

Actually,

it is about my sister.

Your sister?

What's up with her?

My parents died when I was a child.

It was my sister who brought me up.

It was always just the two of us.

Then I got sick,

and she sold herself to slavery

in order to get the money for my treatment.

And nothing has been known about her ever since.

I don't know where she is

and if she is well.

I don't know

when we can meet again.

Hey, don't cry.

Do you have any clue about your sister?

I have many friends.

I might be able to help you with that.

My sister was sold

to a rich family.

Perhaps

she has changed her name.

There has been no clue.

Sometimes I feel

that there is nothing I wouldn't do

as long as I get to see her again.

I won't regret

even if

I'll have to betray my heart.

It is normal for us

to miss our close kin.

I understand that.

But I don't think you will do that.

No matter what,

you will stay true to yourself.

Mr. Lin...

I just got a string of prayer beads

from Baiyun Temple.

It is believed to bring people good luck and happiness.

I'll give it to you.

May you find your sister soon.

Mr. Lin,

I can't accept

a gift this precious.

This is not expensive.

May you find inner peace.

Virtue of Modesty and Patience

Your Ladyship,

I've been wanting

to say this for a while.

It pains me

to keep it to myself.

What are you trying to say?

I remember

how I thought of you

as someone like Lady Erniang

when Madam Luo

sent me to serve you.

However,

it turns out that you are so smart, kind, forgiving

and admirable.

Tonight,

you said so many good things about me.

Are you asking me to lend you money?

Your Ladyship,

there is one thing that I don't understand.

Why would you

let you guard down with me

all the while knowing

that I work for Madam Luo?

Have a seat.

This mansion

may look fancy.

However, people living in it

may have their own miseries.

I let down my guard with you

because I know

that you are a good girl.

And that you never plot against me.

That's why

I want to protect you.

Your Ladyship,

I must have done great things

in my past life

to meet someone like you.

You're a good person.

I will be punished if I ever do

something harmful to you.

Amber,

is there anything wrong?

What happened to you?

Perhaps the cold wind

made me feel ill.

In that case,

you don't need to accompany me

to Xianling Pavilion tomorrow.

Stay at home and have a good rest.

Don't make your cold worse.

What's the matter?

Nothing.

You have been so nice to me.

I am really touched.

Your Ladyship, you're going to Xianling Pavilion tomorrow morning.

You might want to have an early night.

I should leave.

Dear sister...

Mansion of Xu

My Lord.

Amber?

What are you doing here?

Her Ladyship asked me

to send some chicken soup to you, My Lord.

Just leave it there.

Anything else?

My Lord,

you might want to drink it while it's hot.

I'll do it myself.

My Lord,

are you tired?

Do you want me

to rub your shoulders?

You...

Did Her Ladyship ask you to send the soup?

Not really.

Her Ladyship does not know about it.

I came here myself.

Whatever you ask me to do,

I will

do it.

Get out of here.

Zhaoying.

My Lord.

Send Amber back.

Hand her over to Shiyi

when she is back.

Amber, please go with me.

Your Ladyship...

What's wrong?

Does His Lordship not like the soup?

What's going on here?

I got soup

on my clothes

when I was cooking.

I got changed.

I asked Amber to deliver the soup

before it gets cold.

This is my workplace.

It is not a place where everyone has access to.

Next time, you are expected to deliver it yourself.

Those who don't obey the rule

shall be got rid of.

I need her.

And I would hate to dismiss her.

You need her?

Amber is a smart and

thoughtful girl.

I don't need to tell her my thoughts.

Yet she understands me.

How could I live without her?

I'm sorry for what happened just now.

Amber,

apologize to His Lordship.

My Lord, please forgive me.

I was being impolite.

All right.

This is not happening again.

You're excused.

Yes, Your Ladyship.

My Lord, sorry for interrupting your work.

Have a taste of the soup, My Lord.

Your Ladyship.

Your Ladyship...

Your Ladyship, how could you know...

What you said yesterday

and your illness this morning

made me suspicious.

Dongqing told me

that Nanny Tao went to you yesterday.

I thought about it

and figured that Madam Luo

was about to make her move.

Your Ladyship,

I got separated from my sister when I was a child.

Madam Luo is the only person

who knows where my sister is.

I have no choice but to follow her words.

You should have told me.

I couldn't.

I was afraid that Madam Luo

would harm my sister.

Your Ladyship,

I never wanted to

betray you.

Of course,

I know you didn't mean it.

You won't dress like this

if you really have an ulterior purpose.

Today,

you are more plainly dressed than usual.

You don't even wear your hairpins.

And

you look pale.

Should I keep going?

Your Ladyship,

if I really want to seduce His Lordship,

it will cause great harm to you

no matter I succeed or not.

You have been so nice to me.

I can never do this to you.

So,

you pretended to have followed Madam Luo's words.

But you were actually

planning to disgruntle His Lordship

and get kicked out of the mansion.

That way, you did it without offending Madam Luo

or betraying me.

Am I right?

You're a good person.

In my life,

besides my sister,

no one has treated me as you do.

So,

Your Ladyship,

I will never hurt you.

So, what are you going to do now?

If you really want to leave here,

I can help you.

But it would really mean a lot for me

if you stay.

Your Ladyship,

through this,

I realized

what I should do.

From now on,

no matter I get to meet my sister again or not,

I will be true to my heart.

I will not be threatened by anyone.

I trust you, Your Ladyship.

From now on,

I will be loyal to you.

Hey, don't kneel down.

I said it before.

I said

that you two

are more than maids to me.

From now on, we will support each other.

No matter what,

we will never betray each other.

Never betray each other.

It turns out

Amber has her own reasons.

I never trusted her before.

I was wrong about her.

She is a poor girl.

We should help her.

Ask old servants back home

about her sister.

Maybe we can get some clues.

Remember,

be careful.

Madam Luo can't know about it.

I know.

By the way,

it turns out His Lordship

is a perfect gentleman.

I think His Lordship loves you only.

Come on.

It seems you make everything about His Lordship.

I got it right.

I used to think of His Lordship

as a lecherous person

because he had affairs with Concubine Qiao.

It has been a while since we lived in Mansion of Xu.

Let alone Concubine Qiao,

His Lordship barely visits Concubine Wen

and Concubine Qin.

It seems

His Lordship is a little bit callous.

Don't you say that.

Aloof as he is,

His Lordship is not a callous person.

He is just not into

domestic dissention.

As far as I'm concerned,

you know His Lordship

better than anyone else does.

He gave me his heart,

and I would give him mine.

Xianling Pavilion

The wife of Marquis Zhongshan

will be holding a banquet three days later.

Ladies in the capital

are all invited.

For this banquet,

Shiyi,

I want you to go with me.

I want to take this opportunity

to introduce you to others.

Sure.

Mrs. Du.

This is

female guest registry

for the banquet.

I want you to memorize it.

Yes, Mother.

This is your first time

to attend such an occasion

as the matron of Xu family.

Remember,

behave appropriately.

Those ladies

have sharp eyes.

Sure, Mother.

I will work on it.

That's right.

You are all excused.

Yes.

Mrs. Du,

Shiyi seemed to be calm,

with no trace of pride or panic.

It was Lianfang

who disappointed me today.

Great Madam,

let's not jump to the conclusion yet.

We should

see what will happen.

Marquis Zhongshan's Mansion

Marquis Zhongshan's Mansion

This way, please.

Great Madam Xu, you're here.

This way, please.

Great Madam Xu.

Great Madam Xu, you're here.

Welcome, welcome.

Madam Tang,

you've met her.

This is my fourth daughter-in-law.

Greetings, Madam Tang.

Greetings, Madam Xu.

Let's get inside.

There are all my friends inside.

Let's go.

Great Madam Xu, you're here.

Great Madam Zheng.

Greetings, ladies.

Let me introduce

my fourth daughter-in-law to you.

It has been so long.

Your daughter-in-law

has become even more gorgeous.

It seems

your mansion is a good place to live.

I owe it all

to Mother

who has treated me nicely

and helped me out.

Great Madam Zheng,

you look as radiant as ever.

It seems the Duke's Mansion

is an even better place to live.

Exactly.

Mother

is getting prettier

day by day.

Now I see why.

You are making fun of me,

aren't you?

All right.

Let's get inside.

Come on, let's go.

This way, please.

This way, please.

The madam over there

is the wife of Minister Zhou of Ministry of Rites.

She is talking

to her daughter,

who is the wife of Ou Lixing,

the eldest son of the legal wife

of Ou family.

Be careful

when you talk to her.

Yes, Mother.

His Lordship told me

about the relationship between Ou and Xu families.

All right.

I will be talking

with my old friends.

I was talking about

a beauty over there.

Young Madam Ou, it turns out you are that beauty.

That's right.

You look so stunning today.

I couldn't resist

staring at you.

Thank you for saying that.

You must be Madam Xu.

Greetings, Young Madam Ou.

I heard that Madam Xu

is good at

running the house,

and taking good care

of Xu family.

I do admire that.

Meeting you today,

I find Madam Xu

is a young lady.

Young Madam Ou, you're giving me far more credit than I deserve.

I was just handling

family affairs.

Isn't Marquis Yongping's mansion amazing?

It has been a while since we last met.

Shiyi, your aura

has even changed.

Greetings, Erniang.

This is the wife of Wang Yu,

the heir of Duke Mao.

She is also a daughter of Luo family.

You'd think

she is the daughter

of someone's legal wife.

Look at the flower blossoms.

I heard that Young Madam Ou

is a connoisseur

who knows a lot about flowers and plants.

Would you give me a few pointers?

Young Madam Wang, you do me too much honor.

I'm not an expert in the field.

I just know a thing or two about it.

Look at this flower.

It is scarlet, with numerous layers of petals.

This is...

Madam Xu,

I believe you know

what the flower is.

It is a very rare color.

Madam,

do you think

you are more knowledgeable

than the wife

of Marquis Yongping?

Great Madam, should we...

Young Madam Ou,

I beg to differ.

Everyone has his own strengths and weaknesses.

Nobody is omniscient.

It is just a flower.

What difference does it make

if I don't know its type?

Even if I know, does it make me superior to others?

It turns out that

being the wife of Marquis Yongping

makes no change

to one's lowness and shallowness.

You're pathetically ignorant.

Don't refer to yourself

as the daughter of Luo family.

As far as I'm concerned,

one brings shame to the family

when she plays against her own family members.

Erniang.

Madam Xu,

I beg to differ.

We should admit our ignorance.

How could you

sugarcoat it?

Is it what you learned

from Xu family?

People can always learn from each other.

Confucius did not feel ashamed to ask the two kids

when he saw their debate.

If we don't know something,

we can always ask.

It is not something to be ashamed of.

Now I see.

Madam Xu, you're comparing yourself to a saint.

Young Madam Ou, I'm no match for you

when it comes to

taking things out of context.

Why not admit that you don't know this flower?

Why keep beating around the bush?

In spring, there are peach and plum blossoms.

The scent of cymbidium comes with wind.

The redder the flower is,

the more precious the cymbidium is.

Though the color is rare,

the flower is not unique to prestigious families.

It can also be found in merchant families.

It is nothing but an ornament.

I know its type, but what's the point?

Merchant families?

How can you mention our family and merchant families

in the same breath?

Red cymbidium is rare.

But people with ulterior motivations

are not rare.

Orchid is a noble plant.

Not everyone is qualified

to comment on it.

If it falls into

the filthy hands,

its nobleness

will be defiled.

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♪In the cold darkness of midnight, a sigh is heard♪

♪Who picked up the paintbrush to draw loneliness♪

♪In my life, I can draw everything, but lovesickness♪

♪The mountain city is waiting for rain♪

♪I am waiting for you to pass in my memory♪

♪The sky is in a more lonely color than your face♪

♪The wind rises and the candle light flickers♪

♪The thin clothes can't stand the cold days♪

♪Full of twists and turns, fate is untold♪

♪I ground my thoughts into ink♪

♪But I still can't sketch your contours♪

♪How could the ink and paper exhaust our stories♪

♪Who picked up the pen to disturb the heart♪

♪Who visited to remind me of the past♪

♪If feelings can be kept in mind, but cannot be confessed♪

♪I won't escape from whatever end♪

♪In the dim lantern light, with you there is me♪

♪Who picked up the pen to set free lonely tears♪

♪Whoever visited my life, only you stayed all the days♪

♪If the moth doesn't fly into the fire♪

♪How can it be said to be persistent♪

♪Coming to the end of your story, there is me♪